J. Except. People 2014, 3(1):65-81

Engaging students in school leadership: Creative approaches to empowerment

Jonathan Damiani
Nagoya, Japan, 090-9120-5309

This study examines how principals take their lead from students, and use student voice, to create more inclusive and responsive schools, and more responsible models of leadership. I consider issues of student agency and voice within four different public school settings. Further, I consider the challenges all students face, and the ways principals are preparing to address these challenges. In this study I address roadblocks to responsive leadership in urban, suburban, and rural schools using a cogenerative qualitative approach that principals, students, and researchers can use to create new dialogue and shared theories focused on improving both administrative function and the instructional programs of their schools. This approach has revealed a new shared theory which includes young students of various abilities in models of school leadership. Central to this theory is a call for principals and researchers to use more student-driven approaches, so that students can be empowered as learners and leaders in their own right.

Keywords: Educational Leadership, Student Voice, Inclusive Elementary Education

Published: December 11, 2014  Show citation

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Damiani, J. (2014). Engaging students in school leadership: Creative approaches to empowerment. Journal of Exceptional People, 3(4), 65-81
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